Our first stop was at the El Pradense Cheese Factory. The Director, José Manuel Macías, and Master Cheesemaker, Juan Pino, showed us around the production area and gave us a step-by-step explanation of how their cheeses are produced. They utilize goat, sheep and cow milk in their production. Among the many varieties of cheese there were fresh cheeses, cured cheeses, and with paprika, rosemary, and wheat-germ based cheeses. There were also small, cheese cubes soaked in olive oil which was infused with garlic and parsley.

Our next stop was at the Bodegas Rivero winery. Since 1864, they have produced artisan wines, both white and red, making it the oldest operating winery in the Cadiz mountain-region. Since the end of the 1800s they have produced “Pajarete” white wines or “mostos” as they are locally called. In 1982, Salvador Rivero, who is a biologist and an enologist, took over this small family winery and began producing the winery´s first, bottled commercial offering, in its history. Salvador provided us with a taste of an outstanding, aged amontillado wine which is not offered commercially to the public.

It was now time to taste the cheeses and wines that we had learned about. We traveled across town to the Cortijo Huerta Dorotea – a beautiful, country-lodge, tourism complex which includes a small hotel, wood cabins, pools, a restaurant, and some spectacular views of the Grazalema mountain area. It is a perfect place to relax, enjoying clean air and traditional mountain cuisine. And best of all: “from now until March, whoever goes there on behalf of Discover Sherry will receive a 25 percent discount!!” http://huertadorotea.com/En este sitio idílico, probamos los quesos de El Pradense y los vinos de Bodegas Rivero. La cata la dirigió Antonio Orozco, profesor de la Escuela de Hostelería de Arcos de la Frontera y autor junto a Irene Golden del libro “Los Quesos Artesanos de la Sierra de Cádiz”. Probamos los diferentes quesos armonizados con un mosto nuevo de uva palomino con un toque de moscatel y con los vinos blanco y tinto Fabio Montano, todos de Bodegas Rivero. Una experiencia maravillosa. Para acabar el Cortijo Huerta Dorotea nos invitó a una riquísima sopa de tomate.

At this idyllic venue, we tasted the El Pradense cheeses and Bodegas Rivero wines. The tasting was presented by Antonio Orozco, who is a professor at the Arcos de la Frontera Culinary School, and is the co-author, along with Irene Golden, of the book entitled “Los Quesos Artesanos de la Sierra de Cádiz (“The Artisan Cheeses of the Cadiz Mountain Region.”) We tasted various cheeses, pairing them with a young, Palomino-grape, wine mosto which was blended with a touch of Moscatel wine. We also tasted the Fabio Montano white and red wines all produced by the Bodegas Rivero. It was an marvelous experience. To top it off, the Cortijo Huerta Dorotea graciously provided us with an incredibly flavorful “sopa de tomate” (a traditional, tomato-based bread soup).

We returned to the town center, where Carmen, the chef at the Mesón Rural Iptuci, was waiting for us with a ype of wild-asparagus, soup (berza de tagarninas) and its accompanying “pringá” (a variety of stewed meats). It was an amazing day, full of new experiences and the best of company. Thank you very much to the members of “Cuarto y Mitá!!”